Data Correlating the Shallow GISP2 Dust Profile with the Wolf Sunspot Number Series

Summary

These data were collected for a research project that utilized the Greenland Ice Sheet Project Two (GISP2) ice core. The project sought evidence of an 11-year sunspot cycle and whether the cycle correlated with dust that had been transported by global atmospheric circulation to the summit of Greenland and incorporated into the ice sheet. The dust profile was measured along the top 120 m of the GISP2 B-core using laser-light scattering (LLS) from meltwater. The profile has been dated using the established B-core depth-age scale and ranges from 1597 to 1988 A.D. It contains an average of 13 samples per year. There are significant gaps from 1698 to 1711 and from 1719 to 1727 A.D. where the ice was previously heavily sampled and therefore unavailable for analysis. Based on previous evidence that the GISP2 deep (>1600 m) dust profile contains solar-type variability, investigators correlated the shallow dust profile with the Wolf Sunspot Number (SSN) series. The period under investigation ranges from 1752 to 1988 A.D. This research project was funded by the Arctic System Sciences (ARCSS) Program, grant number OPP-9711609.